Jail and prison construction



Sept. 15, M. 1. TRACY 4 JAIL AND PRISON CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Arm/@Nev Sept. 15, 1936. MI l- TRACY 2,054,665

JAIL AND PRISON CONSTRUCTION F'iled Nov, 18, 1955 2 sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in jail and prison construction, and more specifically to an improved method of assembling and securing in. place plates, sheets, bars, and other elements of which wal-ls and other portions of cellsand other parts of jail and prison structures are formed, the predominant object of the invention being to provide an improved construction and method of this sort which prolO Vides for constructing theV inmate-detaining structures of jails and prisons .in a greatly simplified manner, and at the same time providing detaining structures which are much more'secure against escape of inmates confined therel by than were detaining structures heretofore known.

It is well known to persons familiar with such matters that persons confined in cells and other enclosures of prisons and the like who are seeking to escape from confinement` usually search for a starting point at which to commence operations which they hope will result in their freedom from connement. In other words, if a cell or other conning structure presents an accessible rivet, bolt, joint of some sort, or bar, a

confined person has present what he considers .a

vulnerablevpoint at which he may start his operations tending toward escape. It has of late years been recognized by oiiicials having charge of jails and prisons and the prisoners therein that the ideal jail or prison would be one where-V in the cells or other enclosures were so constructed and arranged that no such accessible points of attack were presented to the prisoners,

the theory being that if no vulnerable points are visible and accessible in the confining structures, a prisoner who seeks to escape is so baied by the apparent impregnable nature of the enclosure which confines himthat he abandons any 4:0 attempt to escape; or, if a prisoner should start his operations tending toward escape without knowledge of the presence of any weaker points in the structure that confines him, if any exist, he might select the strongest and most impregnable part for his operations, and thus be frustrated in his attempt to'escape.

Walls and other parts of a` cell or other conlining structure constructed in accordance with this invention to al1 outward appearances are constructed of solid steel plates, steel angle bars, steel battens, and other elements which are assembled and secured together so that all connections and other attaching means for securing the various elements in Vplace are completely con- Cil cealed from view'. Thus from external appear,

ances a `person conned by the confining structures could not possibly know of the locations of such connections and attaching means, and therefore prisoners who seek to cut their Way to Vfreedom from confining structures constructed -5. in accordance with this invention would be completely baffled by the complete absence of rivets and other attaching means which in the minds of the prisoners might constitute weak points at which cutting operations could be started.

Another extremely important feature of the invention is that the task of erecting the confining structures of. jails and prisons made in accordance with this invention is greatly` simplified over the corresponding task of erecting previously known coniining structures in accordance with the practices heretofore followed. In other words, the necessity for locating rivet holes with great accuracy and precision and punching these holes in the various elements of which the conzo ning structures are produced is entirely eliminated, inasmuch as'the various elements of structures made in accordance with the present invention are welded together instead of being riveted as heretofore. Also, because of the particular arrangement of assemblingthe elements of structures made in accordance with the present invention, much `of the accurate cutting of the steel plates heretofore necessary is eliminated. Furthermore, in constructing confining structures in accordance with this invention many of the elements of which said confining structures are comprised' may be assembled and 'secured together in an extremely simple manner before said elements are set up and permanently secured to- 35 gether, hence the Work of assembling and erecting the elements at the job is very-greatly simplified.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view illustrating a typical jail or `prison construction arranged in accordance Vwith this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional perspective of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3'is an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal section of a portion of the improved construction, but showing one of the caps which form parts of the structure as it appears before being finally seated in place.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates in Fig. 1 acell and B designates a corridor located adjacent to said' cell A. The cell A is composed of a plurality ofvertically extended walls which are associated Witha iloorv and ceiling (notshown) of a. jail 55 or prison building in a manner to pro-vide a conning enclosure. For the purpose of this description the vertically extended cell walls referred to will be i-dentied as an end wall A', a rear wall A2, an intermediate wall A3, and a barred front wall A4. Also the corridor B as illustrated in Fig. 1 is produced by vertically extended, barred Walls which may be identified as an end wall B and a side wall B2.

The end wall A of the cell A is composed of a plurality of elements which include a vertically extended angle bar l located at the corner of the cell where the end wall and the rear wall of the cell meet. Associated with the angle bar I is a steel plate 2, said steel plate and said angle bar being securedY together by .welding as indicated at 3 in Fig. 1. At the edge of the steel plate 2 opposite to the edge thereof which is secured to the angle bar I said steel plate has welded thereto a vertically extended batteri 4, the welded joint between the steel plate and the batten being designated by the reference character 5. The batten 4 is arranged at the outer face of the steel plate 2, and at the inner face of said steel plate another batten 6 is arranged which likewise is extended vertically in alined parallelism with respect to the batten 4. The batten 6 has welded to it as indicated at 1 a second steel plate 8, and this steel plate 8 in turn has welded thereto at the edge opposite to the edge at which the batten 6 is locate-d an angle bar 9, the welded joint between the steel plate 8 and the angle bar 9 being designated by the reference character I0.

In order to secure the battens 4 and 6 together and thereby connect the plates 2 and 8 together, the batten 4 is provided with a row of apertures II, one of which is shown in Fig. 1. Preferably these openings are tapered with the smaller diameter at the outer face of the batten. In forming the connection between the battens an electrode of an electric welding apparatus is introduced into each aperture II in turn, and a wel-d I2 is produced which welds together the battens. These welds also securely fix together the plates 2 and 8 to provide a solid wall, inasmuch as the plates are welded to the battens. After the welds I2 have been made a cap I3 is arranged in each aperture II, these caps at the time of their insertion into the apertures being of substantially conical shape as shown in Fig. 3, and being of such diameter that they will pass into the smaller outer diameter of the apertures. When the caps I3 have been set in place within the apertures, each thereof is struck with a hammer or other suitable tool so that it is flattened and spread, as shown in Fig. 1. This causes the cap to frictionally grip the tapered wall of the aperture, with the result that the cap is securely locked within the tapered aperture. Thus each of the welds I2 is concealed from view by the associated cap, whereby access thereto is prevented and the appearance of the structure is improved.

I The rear wall A2 of the cell A shown in Fig. 1 includes a vertically extended angle bar I4, which is slightly larger than the angle bar I already referred to herein, and said angle bar I4 is arranged in embracing relation with respect to said angle bar I, as shown in Fig. 1. 'Ihe angle bar I4 has welded to it at a plurality of spaced points I5 (see Fig. 2) a steel plate I6 similar to the 'plates2 and 8 of the end wall A'. The steel plate I6 has Welded thereto at the edge thereof opposite to the edge at which the angle bar I4 is located a second vertically extended angle bar I'I, said plate I6 and angle bar I1 being welded together at a plurality of points I8, as shown in Fig. 2, wherein the welds referred to are designated by the reference character I1. The rear wall A2 includes a second steel plate I9 which has welded to it at one of its edges as indicated at 20 in Fig. 1 a batten 2|, this batten being extended vertically at the inner faces of the steel plates I6 and I9 in alined parallelism with respect to the leg of the angle bar I1 which is arranged parallel with respect to the outer faces of the plates I6 and I9. At the edge of the steel plate I9 opposite to the edge at which the hatten 2I is secured to said plate at the inner face thereof, a similar batten 22 is secured to said plate I9 at the outer face thereof by welds 23 spaced longitudinally of the connected parts of the plate and batten.

The angle bar I4 is provided with a pluralityv of spaced, tapered apertures 24 formed therethrough, as shown to the best advantage in Fig. 2, and the angle bar II has formed through the leg thereof which is arranged parallel with respect to the outer faces of the plates I6 and I9 a plurality of similar spaced, tapered apertures 25. The angle bars I and I4 are secured together by welds 26 which are formed by extending an electrode of an electric welding apparatus through the tapered apertures 24, while the angle bar I'I and the batten 2I are similarly secured together by welds 21 which are formed by extending an electrode of an electric welding apparatus through the apertures 25 of the angle bar I'I. When the welds 26 and 2'I have been made, the apertures 24 and 25 are closed by caps 28 and 29 which are introduced into said apertures in their original cone-shaped condition and are thereafter struck with a hammer or other tool to flatten and spread said caps, so that they frictionally grip the tapered walls of the apertures and thereby become locked in place.

The intermediate wall A3 includes a vertically disposed angle bar 30 to which is welded as indicated at 3l in Fig. l a steel plate 32. This steel plate 32 has welded thereto at the edge thereof opposite to the edge at which the angle bar 30 is located a batten 33, the welded joint between the plate 32 and the batteri 33, which is located at the outer face of the plate 32, being indicated by the reference characters 34. The wall A3 includes also a second batten 35 that is located at the inner face of the plate 32, this batten being extended vertically in alined parallelism with respect to the batteri 33, as shown in Fig. 1. The batten 35 is welded as indicated by the reference character 35 to a steel plate 31, and this plate 31 has welded to it at its outer face and at the edge thereof opposite to the edge at which the batten 35 is located a second batten 38, the welded joint between the plate 31 and the batten 38 being indicated by the reference character 39. Arranged at the forward end of the intermediate wall A3 is a vertically extended angle element 40, one leg of which is located at the inner face of the plate 31, this leg of said angle bar being arranged in alined parallelism with respect to the batten 38.

The intermediate wall A3 has associated with it at its rear end a vertically extended angle bar 4I, which forms a part of the rear wall Ca of a cell C located adjacent to the cell A. This angle bar 4I is Welded as indicated at 42 to a steel plate 4.3,'this plate 43 corresonding to. the plate I3 of the rear wall A2 of the cell A, .and the outer face of said plate 43 being arranged in contact With the inner face of the batten 22.

Each of the battens .22, 33, and 38 is .provided with a row of spaced apertures, the walls of which .are preferably tapered, the apertures of the battens 22, 33, and 38 .being designated. respectively by the reference characters 44, 45, and 46. The batten 22 and the angle barsy 3i) and 4l are secured together by extending an electrode of an electric welding apparatus into. the apertures 44 thereof to produce welds 41Y which, :as shown in Fig. 1, join Said elements. In like manner, an electrode of an electric welding apparatus is extended into the apertures of the `battens 33 and 38 to produce welds 4.8 .and 49, respectively, the welds 48 securing .together the battens 33 and 35 and the welds 49 securing together the batten 38 andthe angle bar 40. After the welds 41, 48, and 49 have been made, the apertures 44, 45, and 46 are closed by caps 50, 5|, and 52 of the type heretofore described herein and designated by the reference characters I3, 28, and 29. These caps are inserted in the apertures in their original conical form, after which said caps are struck with a hammer to atten and spread them so as to cause the caps to be locked in place Within the apertures.

The front walls of the cells A and C are produced by a barred structure which includes `a suitable frame 53, which supports bars 54, said barred structure having door openings (notV shown) formed therein which, of course, would be Vclosed by suitable doors. This barred structure is secured in place at its opposite ends (only one of which is shown) by welds 55, the weld 55 illustrated in Fig. l being produced by extending an electrode of an electric welding apparatus into a tapered aperture 56 formed through a leg of the angle bar 9 so as to weld said angle bar and the frame 53 of the barred structure together. The aperture 56 is closed after the weld 55 has been made by a cap 5l, which is inserted into the aperture and is locked therein by being flattened and spread by a blow from a hammer or other tool.

The end wall B of the corridor B is secured in place by being welded at one end to the angle bar 9 and at its opposite end to an upstanding angle bar 58, said upstanding angle bar also having welded thereto an end of the side wall B2 of the corridor. The welds 59 and 69 at opposite ends of the end Wall B of the corridor for securing said end wall to the angle bars S and 458, and the Weld 6I for securing the side wall to the angle bar 58, are made in the manner heretofore described; that is to say, leg portions of the angle bars 9 and 53 are provided with tapered apertures into which an electrode of an electric welding apparatus is extended to make the welds, and the apertures are thereafter closed by caps 62, 63, and 94 which are inserted into the apertures and are then iiattened and spread so that they are locked in place.

It is important to note that all of the welds, with the exception of those welds made by extending an electrode through apertures formed through elements of the improved structure, are made before the parts of the structure are set up in their permanent locations. In other words, in the case of the cell A, the following elements of the cell structure would be secured together previous to the setting up of the parts to provide units: the angle bar l, the steel plate 2, and the batteri 4; `the hatten 6, the steel plate 8, and the angle har 9; .the angle bar I4, the steel plate I6, :and the angle bar I 1; the .hatten 2|, the steel plate [9, andthe batten 22; the angle bar 30, thezsteel plate 32, andthe batten 33; the batten 35, the steel plate 31, :and the hatten 38. The assembledunits are then erected in their proper relationship with respect to the floor and ceiling elements of ythe jail or prison building, and with respect to the angle bar 4I, steel plate 43, and angle bar `4i), and with respect to the barred front Wall v53 and the :parts associated therewith. The welds I2, 26, 2.1, 41, 48, V49, 55, 59, 60, and 6I are then made as already explained herein to secure the assembled units together.

Another extremely important feature of the presentr invention is that the steel plates which form parts of the improved structure need not be as accurately cut as plates which are secured in place by rivets. In other Words, the plate 2, for instance, need'not have its opposite edges which are interposed between portions of the angle bars l and I4 and between portions of the battens-4 and 6 accurately squared and sli-eared, inasmuch as the angle bar l-and the batteri 4 are positioned with respect to the plate with reference to an accurately laid out center line (not shown), and therefore the opposite edges of the ypla-te are unimportant. Also, because these edges of the plate are hidden from view, their lack of accuracy ldoes not detract from the appearance of the structure. Furthermore, because the oppositeredge portions of the steel plates overlap and are concealed between other elements of the structure, accuracy as to width of the plates is not essential, as the plate edge portions may overlap the elements between which they are interposed to a greater or less degree within limits, without aiecting the structure in any manner.

I claim: v

-1. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, and a second element secured to said second member by welding, the first-mentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the iirstmentioned memben'said elements of the rst and vsecond members being disposed in adjacent relation,v and means for'securi-ngsaid elements tog-ether.

2. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to saidrmember` by Welding, a second member, and alsecond element secured to said second member by welding, lthe first-mentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned eiement being unattaclied to the rstmentioned member, said elements of the first and second members being disposed in adjacent relation, and concealed means for securing said elements together.

3. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, and a second element secured to said second member by welding, the first-mentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the first mentioned member, said elements of the Iirst and second members being disposed in adjacent relation, means for securing said elements together, and means for concealing said element-securing means.

4. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, and a second element secured to said'second member by welding, the first-mentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached toY the firstmentioned member, said elements of the rst and second members being disposed in adjacent relation, and welds for Ysecuring said elements together.

5. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, and a second element secured to said second member by welding, the rst-mentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the rstmentioned member, said elements of the rst and second members being disposed in adjacent relation, welds forrsecurng said elements together, and means for concealing the welds between said elements.

6. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, a second element secured to said second member by welding, the rstmentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mem tioned element being unattached to the rstmentioned member, said elements of the first and second members being disposed in adjacent relation and one thereof being provided with apertures formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric welding apparatus, and welds between said elements located at the inner ends of said apertures for securing said elements together. v

7. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, a second element secured to said second member by welding, the rst-mentioned element being unattached to the secondmentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the first-mentioned member, said elements of the rst and second members being disposed in adjacent relation and one thereof being provided with apertures formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric welding apparatus, welds between said elements located at the inner ends of said apertures for securing said elements together, and means for concealing the last-mentioned welds.

8. A jail or prison structure includinga member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, a second element secured to said second member by welding, the rstmentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the firstmentioned member, said elements of the iirst and second members being disposed in adjacent relation and one thereof being provided with apertures formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric Welding apparatus, ,y

welds between said elements located at the inner ends of said apertures for securing said elements together, and means located Within said apertures for concealing the last-mentioned welds.

9. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by Welding, a second member, a second element secured to said second member by welding, the firstmentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the rstmentioned member, said elements of the first and second members being disposed in adjacent relation and one thereof being provided with apertures formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric welding apparatus, welds between said elements located at the inner ends of said aperturesfor securing said elements together, and means located within said apertures for concealing the last-mentioned welds, said means comprising caps forced into frictional gripping contact with the walls of said apertures so as to be securely xed in place.

10. A jail or prison structure including a member, an element secured to said member by welding, a second member, a second element secured to said second member by welding, the firstmentioned element being unattached to the second-mentioned member and the second-mentioned element being unattached to the firstmentioned member, said elements of the first and second members being disposed in adjacent relation and one thereof being provided with tapered apertures formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric welding apparatus, welds between said elements located at ,the inner ends of said apertures for securing said elements together, and means located Within said apertures for concealing the last-mentioned welds, said means comprising caps forced into frictional gripping contact with the walls of said apertures so as to be securely xed in place.

11. A jail or prison structure including a pair of adjacently disposed elements one of which is provided with an aperture formed therethrough adapted to receive an electrode of an electric welding apparatus, a weld located at the inner end of said aperture for securing said elements together, and means located in said aperture for concealing said weld, said means comprising a cap forced into frictional gripping contact with the wall of said aperture so as to securely fix said cap in place.

MICHAEL J. TRACY. 

